Bare-Faced Messiah (PDF) - Apologetics Index

the public not to refer to me in any way with this title.'
Next day, the Daily Mail rather churlishly pointed out that the title Hubbard had publicly renounced
was bogus anyway. Mr Hubbard was not available for comment; his personal assistant, Reg
Sharpe, told the newspaper that Ron was abroad on holiday and was not to be disturbed.
Hubbard believed he was a reincarnation of Cecil Rhodes and liked to sport the kind of hat worn by
the founder of Rhodesia. Fortunately, he did not know Rhodes was homosexual.
Hubbard was not on holiday, he was on his way to Rhodesia, where Prime Minister Ian Smith had
recently signed a Unilateral Declaration of Independence in defiance of the British Government.
Now that he had no reason to hope that Australia would be the first 'clear' continent, Hubbard had
scaled down his ambitions and was looking for a country which would provide a 'safe environment'
for Scientology. He chose Rhodesia firstly because he thought he could create a favourable climate
by helping to solve the UDI crisis and secondly because he believed he had been Cecil Rhodes in
a previous life. He told Reg Sharpe that he hoped to be able to recover gold and diamonds he was
convinced Rhodes had buried somewhere in Rhodesia.
On 7 April 1966, the CIA headquarters in the United States received a cable from an agent in
Rhodesia: 'Request traces of L. Ron Hubbard, US citizen recently arrived.' The reply confirmed that
Headquarters files contained no derogatory information about the subject, but a memo was
attached giving excerpts from press reports. It concluded: 'Individuals who have been connected
with the organizations headed by Hubbard or who have had contact with him and the organizations,
have indicated that Hubbard is a "crackpot" and of "doubtful mental background".'[12]
The 'crackpot' meanwhile had bought a large four-bedroomed house with a swimming-pool in the
exclusive Alexander Park suburb of Salisbury and opened negotiations to acquire the Bumi Hills
Hotel on Lake Kariba. His plan was to use the hotel as a luxury base from which to spread the
influence of Scientology. He believed the Lake Kariba site would attract well-heeled followers who
wanted to be instructed in the highest levels of Scientology and were willing to pay around $10,000
for the privilege.